Brett Watches LOTR Return of the King! 

Gotta say, it looks like all of the comments from the last two movies have finally convinced Brett to actually watch the movie without her phone. Good job Ladies and Gentlemen, we've done it.

Watching Brett put down her phone was even more exciting and satisfying than watching them destroy the ring.

There is nothing weird about two men having a bond as strong as any you can find. It does not make things weird.

To answer Brett's question about Arwen at 2:15, Elrond and his brother Elros were the Half-Elven, and therefore, were given a choice either to be immortal as Elves or be mortal as Men. Elrond chose the life of an Elf and Elros chose the life of a Man. Elros, however, was granted a much longer life than most Men, and was the first King of Numenor. Aragorn is descended from Elros which is why he has a much longer life than the Rohirrim. Elrond's children were also given the same choice he was given, and Arwen chose a mortal life to be with Aragorn.

Funny that we didn't see her reaction to the rohirrim charge, "I am no man", the ghosts allying with Aragorn, "you bow to no one", The mouth of sauron, or Aragorn's "for frodo" speech... Which are all iconic and critical to the story... I'm guessing she was on her phone during those moments and after the controversy from the two towers video, they decided to cut those out.

I wanted to see you react to the scene where Aragorn says, "My friends, you bow to no one!" That scene is so iconic for those films. In my opinion anyway.

Fun fact: Frodo and Legolas never have a single conversation between them. Only one thing was ever said between them which was in the first movie where Legolas says, “And you have my bow.”

The friendship between Frodo and Sam is beautiful. It's a shame there's no appreciation for deep, meaningful friendships anymore and everything is gay or no homo jokes. To me it shows a lack of understanding of the characters and story, as well as how much of his own experiences Tolkein wove into this world. Also I do not get the hate for Legolas. He's an elf, an immortal, ethereal being. He's not the same as a human and he won't speak like a human. Again, lack of understanding or appreciation for these characters. I feel like if Brett had watched these with Ben or on her own, her opinions would have been different.

Brett liking two towers the most because it jumps around more is proof gen Z has short attention span.

Frodo left because his heart never truly healed after the destruction of The One Ring. And that wound he took on Weathertop (in the first movie) ached often, particularly on the day he originally was wounded. Sailing to The Undying Lands gave him peace until the day he did finally pass away. Side note: Not only did Sam marry Rosie Cotton, and had many children (13! Very busy!), he was also elected Mayor of the Shire (for seven consecutive seven-year terms!). Sam was also allowed to cross the ocean to The Undying Lands because he was technically a Ringbearer (if only for a short while). Also a little trivia not covered in the movies..."The Gaffer" (mentioned by Sam in the third movie, in Cirith Ungol) was Samwise Gamgee's father! Gimli and Legolas remained close friends. Famously so! Eventually Gimli would be allowed to go to The Undying Lands as well in recognition of his status as an "Elf Friend" and because he healed the rift that had existed between Elf and Dwarf. There's so much more to the end of this story that is just not covered in the movie (which is fine. This was a long movie already)

They didnt have Sam kill Gullom becuase then Gollum becomes more of a classic Villian that must be defeated, instead of what he really is; A sad corrupted person to be pitied. I think JRRT himself mean that people are meant to feel more sad than angry towards Gollum. The ring corrupted him and drove him to a terrible end. He had to die becuase of the ring (in the scuffle the ring provoked), because it was the ring that caused all of his downfall. It was far more poetic for the ring to kill him than sam

Sam Gamjee is the purest of heart and Viggo brings it home , two very underrated actors , awesome performances. Tastes may vary but they made my LOTR experiences memorable.

Bro skipped the whole Pelennor Fields battle in the edit! Wat?! Where's her reaction to Éowyn slaying of the Witch King lmao?

Sorry... what? Sam picks up Frodo in a Christlike act of service and sacrifice as the Into The West theme plays and in those 5 seconds I feel a spark of deep emotion instantly rising in my heart, but Brett just goes "oh sh*t." We are not the same.

Was sad that they glossed entirely over the battle of Pelenor Fields. Like the charge of the Rohirim is one of the most emotional parts of the trilogy for me and the fact that there was apparently no reaction to that makes me think Brett was on her phone again lol. All in all though enjoyed this set of videos. I might try watching some of the others in this series, namely the Star Wars ones.

When Tolkien wrote these stories he wrote the ring to represent sin and Gollum as what happens to our soul with sin’s corrupting force. We think we want it, we think it sounds fun and enjoyable, but it inevitably becomes a part of us and destroys us. Never in history has someone put a better representation of sin and it’s affects on our soul than Tolkien and the ring. He also illustrates so strongly why who we choose as our companions and fellowship in life is so important

The point of the fight with frodo and gollum at the end was that the ring which is a metaphor for addiction. They both wanted it. Both were addicted. Both fighting for it. But when they fell off the edge of the cliff gollum chose his addiction reaching for the ring even though it cost him his life. While when frodo fell, he reached for the side of the cliff ultimately choosing to try and live instead. One succumb to additiction and died, one chose life.

they better have a " you bow to know one" reaction!! EDIT: there is no reaction to it !! GOD DAMN IT! ITS THE BEST MOMENT OF THE MOVIE!

Oddly, her favorite movie is the one she spent the most time on her phone. I don’t understand the hate for Legolas let alone, Orlando Bloom. Keep the movie reviews coming.

Not really content for here but in the extended edition they also show all the actors and whatnot as they make the movie and how much they had to go thru to make it. Really makes you love the series even more. Especially Vigo man, if he didn't put in 110% it wouldn't be the same. He wasn't even the first pick but can you imagine someone else being Aragorn? Also seeing Peter Jackson trying to shoot the last shot of the film and having them redo it over and over cuz he just didn't want it to end is beyond touching.

For Legolas...I remember his dialogue in the books being super descriptive and lengthy. They probably had difficulty chopping his lines down to something that wouldn't bore a theater audience. As far as the jumping back and forth, that's actually in line with the original structure of the books. There's sub-books in each main book that break at about the halfway point. Then you start over part of the timeline in the next section.

I haven't even started watching this yet, but the fact that it's cut down to

Gollumn's death is purposeful, as it was his one mind goal to get the ring that ultimately kills him, saves Frodo, and the entire world. This is what Gandalf meant when he said everybody has their purpose. This means that Bilbo sparing Golumn ultimately helped save the entire world.

Elrond and Arwen are half-elves, so they can choose to be mortal or immortal. Arwen chose mortality to be with Aragorn. Also, by her choosing to stay in Middle Earth she gave her "ticket" to the West to Frodo.

If I were friends with Brett, I would now know I could never watch a movie with her.

It's not a series, but if you guys haven't seen it yet you should definitely watch The Count of Monte Cristo. Great movie

Frodo and gollum fighting over the ring is the most meaningful way for the ring to be destroyed. It engineers its own demise. Its not supposed to be a heroic moment, its about showing how evil corrupts even the most innocent.

Ian mckellin had a solid response to the cancel idea. They never got cancelled for not using real dwarves or little people because all th budget went to making sure they hired 2 actual wizards.

How do you know if you liked the second film, Brett? You barely watched it.

they actually DID cast little people as scale body doubles. there are many scenes where they use little people for the hobbits when their faces aren't showing, or even in some instances they use CGI to put Elija wood's face on a scale body double. the most notable use of this is when Gandalf "dies" and Aragorn has to grab Frodo and pull him away from the edge. they have to use a scale body double because the audience needed to see that Frodo was much Smaller than Aragorn. so they actually used CGI to superimpose Elijah Wood's face over the scale body double's face.

petition for a full reaction… this was so disappointing! no ride of the rohirrim, no “i am no man” “you bow to no one” if ur gonna cut out half the movie then don’t upload it. lotr is the greatest classic of all time and it’s being rUinEd 😭😭😭

The longest movie had the shortest reaction video. There were so many good scenes they could have shown Brett's reaction to. Kinda disappointed by the editors on this one.

After watching dozens of other reactors watch and get as invested and emotional I get when watching these films. I think the main issue with Brett, and the other guy whatever his name is, it's that she too often absorbed in viewing most of society through a cynical and detached way. Which is understandable for what she does... But she seems to not at ALL have the ability to suspend disbelief, and just sink into a good story. Like most people.

I like the frodo gollum ring ending. No one is strong enough to resist it, so it has to be an accident.

As much as i appreciate Brett, I would hate watching movies with her 😂

Should do the original Indiana Jones trilogy next Brett!

Honestly this is the first time I've ever watched one of Bretts video's and felt attacked haha. These movies will always have a special place in my heart.

I recommend her watching a show she already knows and loves so we understand why she likes the things she does.

Elrond and his kin are very special elves because of their heritage. Long story short, they are descendants of half-elves that were granted a special gift. They (and they alone) get to choose which side of their lineage they take after. Elrond's brother, Elros, chose his mortal human side and resided as the first king of Numenor. Elrond himself chose his immortal elf side. Naturally, Arwen also gets her choice in the matter.

"Denethor's family ran the kingdom for centuries, he's just being stubborn" -- Denethor actually met Aragorn before, in the era of serious pirate attacks on Gondor. Aragorn went to Minas Tirith incognito, and led Gondoran troops to victory over the pirates at Pelargir. He got a great deal of praise from Denethor's father Ecthelion for the battle (which Denethor did not join, either because his father was protecting him or because he was more scholar than warrior.) So, when Denethor had a son (Boromir) who turned out to be a bada** warrior like Aragorn, Denethor was thrilled. He was less thrilled with his son Faramir, who (in the books) was far more scholarly and intellectual, like his father. (I kind of wish they'd shown Faramir holding the torch to guide Gandalf down to the library when he was researching the Ring.) This ties up a number of story threads very nearly -- Denethor's hostility towards Aragorn, possibly driven by early jealousy; his preference for Boromir, and despair at Boromir's death; his resentment of Faramir for being too much like him, and his projected self-loathing that sent Faramir out on the hopeless mission to retake Osgiliath. He's a rather tragic figure, all in all. He wanted to badly to be king and have those honors to which he was unsuited, rejecting his own role and his own strengths.

Y'all should watch the Pirates of the Caribbean next or Back to the future

"I was much more engaged in the second one". Bruh! Engaged to that phone of yours! Lol

WITHOUT the phone. Theoden crying is no excuse. This is the longest of the three. Probably one of the most remarkable too

I liked the wholesomeness of Frodo and Sam’s relationship. Just have to not think into it too much

When it comes to the books they are a fantastic read if you haven't read them yet. Still to this day my favorite read aside from the various Vernean tales or novels by Tom Clancy. But the books are (and I'm gonna list them chronologically in terms of the timeline of Middle-Earth because I am as my fellow zoomers say "lit" like that): 1) *The Silmarillion* -- *Beren and Lúthien* & *Children of Hurin* are separate books that can be read to take place of their respective chapters within *The Silmarillion* - _Of Beren and Lúthien_ for the former and _Of Túrin Turambar_ for the latter. 2) *The Fall of Gondolin* 3) *Unfinished Tales* 4) *The Hobbit* 5) *The Lord of the Rings Trilogy*

Happy New Years!!!

I still bawl like a baby when everyone bows to the hobbits. Every damn time.

My prediction for this episode…..Brett’s gonna be on her phone again.

"You bow to no one" always gets me.

You might also like Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' remake. It is also pretty long and takes about an hour to get to the main action, but it is pretty stunning in HD.

He should have added for a fun fact that this movie tied the most number of Oscars received with Ben-Hur and Titanic (11).

The Return of the King's existence is proof that even the strongest of men cry in the most bitter-sweet endings in cinematic history.

wait we skipped the reaction to the greatest speech and cavalry charge in cinema history?!

Have Brett watch Indiana Jones next!

So inspiring that I had to make popcorn to watch her eat popcorn.

I would've like to have seen Brett's reaction to the " I am no man" scene.

Frodo, kissing Samwise tenderly on his forehead after literally everything they’ve been through: Brett: “ewww no no no gross” 💀

Watching the extended trilogy in one go next weekend at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver. Did so last year too; making it an annual tradition.

Don’t know if this has been mentioned already, but in short, Elrond is known as a half elf and he and his children were given the choice to either remain elves or to become mortal. Arwen chose to become a mortal. I’m sure there is someone who can do a much better, in depth explanation, but that’s the short version 😅

"Boromir died for us." "And Brett Cooper laughed." I'm dying, this is awesome

0:25 How is it your favorite when you are on your damn phone most of the time? 2:21 I can explain that. Elrond and Arwen are half-Elf/Humans. They can choose if they want to live as a human's lifespan or Elves' immortality. That's why Arwen said "I choose a mortal's life", she wants to be with Aragorn but can't as an Elf as they were leaving and she wouldn't be with her beloved, not even in death if she was immortal. Watch the Star Wars prequels.

I started rewatching the Lord of the Rings trilogy while you began watching it! I watched each comment review video after I watched each movie! Loved it!

Happy New Year.

Regarding her question at 2:30, the half-elven people can essentially choose to be either elf or human. Elrond choose to remain elf. When he says arwen is dying, he means she just chose to become human, for the sake of staying with aragorn.

I would say you should watch either Indiana Jones, Back to the Future or Alien next

This Trilogy is a Masterpiece. Thanks for sharing this videoreaction and greetings from a spanish fan of The Lord of the Rings.

I don't know if she's seen home alone but watching the first two would be great I think. I don't think she would particularly love them but they are so well known if she hasn't seen them she has to just so she knows about it.

So, there were no phone distractions in this video...but curious how the longest movie in the series has a reaction video that is just over 3 minutes shorter than the Two Towers. Methinks there was some editing magic done here. lol

You just skipped over the Rohirrim charge and Theoden's speech. I'm so sad.

Brett’s explanation of what ever she was trying to explain was just best thing I ever seen, Brett, you are so lovely.

So much was missed in this reaction..... So much! Ugh. Is there an extended version to this reaction?!

My respect for Brett has dropped 10 points over these reactions… 😪

Definitely gotta watch the Dark Knight Trilogy next, and get Brett into Chris Nolan's films. That Dark Knight poster has just been screaming it ever since Brett's first Off the Clock movie night

Fun fact! I dont remember if its in his letters or the Unfinished Tales, but Tolkien said that Eru Illuvatar was involved in gollum "coincidentally" falling into the lava at the end. Which is why it may seem random. (Eru in simple terms is their version of God if I'm not mistaken.)

She definitely got a talking to about her phone after the Two Towers vid lol

Arwen’s immortality being tied to the fate of the One Ring was a narrative they added in the films to add higher stakes to the romance subplot. It’s not present in the books. :)

"I looked it up prior to arriving at Scheller's house" Yes. She did so on her phone in while his driveway.

Fun fact, the actor jed brophy who plays nori in the hobbit trilogy plays 6 different characters in lotr trilogy (3 orcs, 1 elf, 1 black rider, and a rohirrim soldier). 7 parts in 6 films.

So the longest film is the shortest reaction video by more than 12 minutes? We know why: The editor removed all the instances of Brett not paying attention to the movie and instead acting like a Gen-Z cliché while staring at her phone. This was obviously shot before the holidays, which means our criticism won't have true effect (I hope) until the next one of these. I recommend Brett address the criticism and pledge to put her damn phone away while doing these. Otherwise, what's the effing point?

Her journey is complete. Brett Cooper bows to no one... And now we must protect her innocent eyes from "Amazon's The Rings of Power" at all costs.

The power of the elves was fading across all of Middle Earth, but the reason it was much slower to leave Elrond and Rivendell as a whole was because he possessed one of the 3 elven rings of power. Just like how Galadriel's ring did for Loth Lorian

Havent seen any comments answering this but the reason Elrond is immortal and Arwens is leaving her is because they are half-elves and they can choose to imortallity or not. It also only partly means live forever, if an elf dies, his spirit will remain on “Earth” while a humans spirit will go to “God”. So Arwen choosing mortality for Aragorn means she will go with him in the after life

Brett, please do the Dark Knight Trilogy.

Am I the only one that was a lot more serious and emotional when I watched these for the first time?

A few movie recommendations: (The original) Alien Brazil (Terry Gilliam movie, but make sure it is NOT the "Love Conquers All" version) Braveheart (The original) Terminator Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

How did you not cry at the end??? I always cry at the end when he’s telling everyone goodbye!

Kind of surprised there was no reaction to: Theoden's speech before Pelennor Fields, Eowyn defeating the Lich King, you bow to no one moment, and nothing having to do with much of the battle of Gondor.

if youre gonna show more of LotR universe to Brett, please show her the video of Tolkien himself narrating the ride of the Rohirrim. Theres a nice story about that... Tolkien recorded it before the books were ever published...

Elrond is half elven. He comes from a Branch of Noldor and had a brother as well who chose a mortal life like Arwen. As an half Elve he hs the rare opportunity to choose weather he wants to stay imortal or become mortal and unchane himselfe from the world. His brother also chose mortal life and became the first King of the Numenor.

Brett, if you do read the books read them with the audiobooks by Andy Serkis (aka Gollum). I just finished the series with that last night and it was incredible. Only thing is that you’ll want to listen to them slightly sped up to keep up with your actual reading, but they’re still amazing.

Definitely do Pirates of the Caribbean! I LOVE the first one and Orlando bloom deserves a chance at redemption

How do you skip the whole battle that takes up half the movie? 😂

Two towers is my favorite because it’s the one I saw the most as a child, since my grandma loved it so much. I love Return of the King and it was epic, but I have an attachment to two towers.

I read a rumor a few months back that Christopher Tolkien didn't like Peter Jackson's adaptation because of the few minute changes he made to the plot and how he added a lot of cheesy dialogue and comic relief that Jackson claims helped keep the audience invested in such a "long journey" in the movie theater. Any ways, I can see how Christopher Tolkien would have been upset with the way that Gollum died because the point of the him dancing and falling in was supposed to show just how deeply obsessed and happy he was to finally have the ring back, that he didn't even consider the immediate danger to his life anymore. I read that Christopher Tolkien also really admired Andy Serkis's dedication to the character of Golum because he said that one of his biggest concerns about selling the rights for a live action adaption of the books was how Gollum would translate to the screen with live characters. Gollum represents a very important character in the books metaphorically because he represents how good people who hold on to power can be corrupted by it and do anything to try and get it back and I think that they really should have left the way gollum died the way it is. I guess maybe it would have been interpretable as really weird to show Gollum like fall off being intoxicated by the fact that he had finally got his ring back after so long. Or it just didn't look convincing enough for him to dance and fall in and not have it look well kinda cartoony (perhaps he cartwheels off lol?) All I know is that Frodo miraculously grabbing on so heroic samwise can pull him to safety was just like too much sentimental bonding thrown in. Like okay we got it! they are in this together, all the way... sheesh. I don't know cinematically there must have been a lot of challenges translating the spirit of the books to the screen in a way that could be true to the source material while at the same time not becoming a 9 hour snoozefest on subsequent watch throughs. I also think the battles were epic but they also felt a bit too sanitized, when the books were written about Tolkien's own experience in WW2 fighting the real Orcs. (the nazis) When you think about it from that perspective you can also see why Christopher Tolkien wouldn't like the films.

Have you considered Scheller and Brett intentionally put her cell-phone use in the video to make you wonder.

Lmao they skipped so much of this movie during the reaction 😂

Elrond's parents were an elf and a human, so their family have the power to choose between staying immortal elves or becoming mortal humans. Elrond's brother actually chose to become human and his descendants became the kings of Gondor. So... yeah... technically Arwen is Aragorn's great-great-aunt to the Nth degree

To get a help answer some of the questions that arise in LOTR, read the Silmarilion, Morgoth's Ring etc. It expands the whole story and explains some of the plot holes and histories of the characters.

Has Brett ever watched any Hayao Miyazaki film? Or the old films like Casablanca or Roman Holiday or Fiddler on the Roof?

I love Return of the King most because of how dang hard it is to stick a satisfying ending to a huge story like this, and they somehow pull it off. I know people complain about it not having the Invasion of the Shire, but that would've added so much more to the film after the story already climaxes with the destruction of the Ring and the death of Sauron. This is why I don't inherently have a problem with changes in adaptation provided those changes are respectful to the spirit of the source material. Not everything you can get away with in a book works exactly the same in the context of a film. I think they pulled off the ending just about as well as they possibly could have. The only thing I'd change is maybe make the reunion of the fellowship a bit more subdued and reserved instead of the slightly over the top way they handled it. Gandalf is the only one who warranted the shocked reaction from Frodo. These are probably my favorite movies or really close to it. I think you guys should watch either the Indiana Jones trilogy (just the first three), the Star Wars prequels, The Matrix movies (including the Animatrix), or the first 3 Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Or something completely different that isn't a part of a series. Whatever. I really enjoy these regardless.